The Heart Does Break
Canadian Writers on Grief and Mourning
Description
A book in which some of our best writers address their own losses -- and help us endure our own...
A heartbreaking, comforting and beautiful collection of true stories about grief and mourning from some of Canada's best known writers.
When Jean Baird's daughter, Bronwyn, died suddenly, Jean's deep instinct was to turn to books to help her in her time of sudden loss. Although she found that the thoughts of counselors, psychologists, Buddhists, and self-help gurus were perhaps some help, the works that truly reached to the heart of the matter were by literary writers, largely from the UK and the US. Scanning the Canadian landscape, Jean and her husband George Bowering found elegies and tributes, but little from our writers about the person who is left behind to mourn or what it takes to endure grieving. The Heart Does Break -- an anthology of twenty original pieces -- sets out to fill that gap.
About this Author
Jean Baird has been an English professor, magazine publisher, consultant for non-profit organizations, and creative director of Canada Book Week for the Writers' Trust of Canada. George Bowering is a poet, novelist, essayist, critic, historian and editor. In 2002 he was appointed Canada's first Parliamentary Poet Laureate. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada.
Reviews
NATIONAL BESTSELLER
"Read this book -- for enlightenment and entertainment, for good writing about a tough subject. If George Bowering's and Jean Baird's anthology were a feature film, it would receive innumerable thumbs-up and all the stars."
-- The Globe and Mail
"Readers will be struck by the level of emotional honesty. . . . Readers who have mourned the loss of someone dear will find solace and validation within the pages of this anthology."
-- Winnipeg Free Press
"It might well prove of comfort to the bereft, if only for the variety of experiences these authors have endured."
-- National Post
"A fine and powerful collection that is, in places, impossible to read without crying."
-- The Gazette
"All the stories are well written and all are worth reading."
-- Ottawa Citizen
If the product is in stock at the store nearest you, we suggest you call ahead to have it set aside for you, or you may place an order online and choose in-store pickup.